Gov. Adams Oshiomhole says for any government to make
progress, it must maintain a national minimum wage. Oshiomhole said this in Abuja on Wednesday during a forum
tagged ‘The Podium’, organised by The Kukah Centre in collaboration with the
Ford Foundation.
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| Gov Adams Oshiomhole |
The programme, which seeks an interface between the
electorate and policy makers, had the theme: “From Activism to Political Power:
The Challenges of Democratic Governance in Nigeria”.
According to Oshiomhole, a labourer is worthy of his wages,
meaning if an employer is owing, he is breaching a contract. “’This is where I’m different. I still insist any government
who wants to be taken seriously must have a national minimum wage. “We must maintain a national minimum wage, look for ways to
increase it; that is what I still advocate for.”
Giving an informal account of his stewardship and why he
carried out most of his actions, the governor said he stayed true to his
activism years by not owing salaries. He explained that as a former factory worker himself, he
understood the importance of wages and that was why he increased workers
salaries in Edo by 38 per cent.
“Activism is not synonymous with being progressive. I
believe we should all be idealistic and not dismiss the possibility of an ideal
society. “One man’s idealism is another man’s reality. Wages paid to
people is not burden. “In Edo we increased it to 38 per cent and I’m proud to
still pay before the last day of every month.”
He explained that complaints about salaries from the state
were mostly about the 18 months pension arrears he inherited and the inability
of local governments to pay their staff.
“We respect the autonomy of the Local Government but we
insisted that if they cannot do environmental sanitation, waste management,
grading rural roads, cleaning up the market at least you must pay the teachers’
salaries. “So I am not responsible for non-payment at that level.
Non-payment of wages is a criminal breach in the law of contract. “You can pay daily, weekly, monthly but not in excess of 30
days, you are breaching the agreement.”
Oshiomhole said as an activist he was in governance to know
the ropes, know how to help people and counter concepts like god-fatherism in
politics.
“I have been militant, will remain a militant and retire a
militant not with guns. I don’t burst pipelines but we must react to sayings
like the ‘if you can’t beat them join them’.”
The Chairman of the occasion, former Gov. Donald Duke of
Rivers, said he advocates improvement in society. “Sadly politicians in our society are merely jobbers and
budget padders. We advocate improvement and not change. “We had a violent change in 1966, so change is not
necessarily the way to go. Improvements however makes things happen, develops
societies and affects the people positively.”
Bishop Mathew Kukah, the Convener of the event, said the
essence of the forum was to design programmes that encourage debate and free
exchange of ideas. “To serve as a mediating platform between the government,
citizens and communities. “Also, to enhance the quality of leadership training at all
levels both in the public and non governmental sectors.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that activists from
all sectors and relevant stakeholders attended the event. (NAN)
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